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The precepts
of the Church
PRAISED BE JESUS
CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
Recently I received an inquiry from a friend who served as a
confirmation sponsor this past spring. He obviously took that role
seriously. Part of the formation included a study of the precepts of the
Church. My pen pal noted that in the days of the Baltimore Catechism he
had been taught there are six precepts of the Church. I pulled out an
old copy of the Baltimore Catechism and sure enough, I found the “Six
Commandments of the Church”: to assist at Mass on all Sundays and holy
days of obligation; to fast and abstain on the days appointed; to
confess our sins at least once a year; to receive holy Communion during
the Easter time; to contribute to the support of the Church; to observe
the laws of the Church concerning marriage.
My pen pal’s candidate had studied the precepts (older catechisms
referred to them as commandments) of the Church, but only five were
listed. My friend wanted to know which one had slipped off the table. He
concluded it must be the fifth: “to contribute to the support of the
Church.” Having made that observation, he wondered how many people
realize there are precepts of the Church. A good point.
There was a day when Catholics could rattle off the Ten Commandments as
well as the precepts of the Church with little difficulty. It’s
problematic today how few can do that.
The Ten Commandments probably fare better than the precepts, which may
be total mysteries to many.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs (2041) that “the precepts
of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and
nourished by liturgical life. The obligatory character of these positive
laws decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the
faithful the very necessary minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral
effort, in the growth and love of God and neighbor.”
In presenting these precepts, catechisms normally start with a quotation
from St. Matthew’s Gospel: “I assure you, whatever you declare bound on
earth shall be held bound in heaven, and whatever you declare loosed on
earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:18). Jesus addressed these
words to his apostles.
Catechisms then point out that after the worship of God, the Church is
concerned with the salvation and sanctification of her members. To quote
from one of the frequently used catechisms of the past, “She remembers,
if we sometimes forget, that Our Lord insisted on the necessity of
penance and mortification. She realizes that penance and other practices
which we must observe are necessary for our very salvation. As a wise
and practical mother she also realizes that, left to ourselves, we would
keep putting off doing these necessary things. Accordingly, she places
on her children the obligation of fasting, of worshipping God, of doing
at definite times and places that which we might otherwise neglect to
our peril” (Life in Christ/Killgallon and Weber).
Unlike the laws of God, which are immutable, the laws of the Church are
subject to change by the Church. She has made them, so she can change
them. She can modify them. She can grant dispensations from them.
Nonetheless, tradition instructs that in obeying the commandments of the
Church, it is Christ we are obeying, the Christ who said, “He who hears
you, hears me.”
So, over the centuries, the Church has made laws, many precepts. There
are rules on how one is to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and
the sacraments. Diocesan bishops promulgate laws. And, there is the
General Law of the Church contained in the Code of Canon Law. Most
recently updated in 1983 under the direction of Pope John Paul II, there
are a total of 1,752 canons governing the Western Church. The Eastern
Catholic Church has its own set of canons, most recently updated in
1991.
When it comes to selecting the laws, precepts or commandments which
indicate basic requirements one must fulfill to be considered a Catholic
in good standing, catechisms have differed from time to time. The
Baltimore Catechism did indeed list six precepts. Modern-day catechisms
such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the United States Catholic
Catechism for Adults, and the Compendium to the Catechism, list five.
The one that has fallen off the table, as my friend would say, is listed
as number six in the Baltimore Catechism: “to observe the laws of the
Church concerning marriage.” This is not to say that there are no longer
laws governing marriage or that they are unimportant. Rather, those
rules and regulations are complex and require explanation. That
explanation is contained in the Code of Canon Law, which devotes 34
pages of 110 canons to marriage.
The important thing about the so-called precepts of the Church is the
fact they are an attempt to state the indispensable minimum in the
spirit of prayer, sacramental life, moral commitment and growth in the
love of God and neighbor that is expected of card-carrying Catholics. As
such, they deserve reflection and prayer. It is not right to excuse
one’s self from participation in Mass on Sundays and other holy days of
obligation without an extremely serious cause, and Catholics need to
keep in mind the importance of refraining from work and activities which
could impede the sanctification of those days. There is an obligation to
confess our sins. It is the reception of the sacrament of penance
(reconciliation) that helps us prepare not only to receive the Eucharist
worthily, but also to continue the process of conversion begun in
baptism. The mandated days of fast and abstinence are minimal. At the
same time, the need to do penance for our sins must not be taken
lightly. Fasting is the desert prayer of Jesus. It should be part of
Catholic life. And, it should extend beyond the mandated days of Ash
Wednesday and Good Friday. It is an obligation, too, for Catholics to
support the Church with their time, talent and financial resources.
“Church” refers to one’s parish, the ministry of the bishop (diocese)
and the ministry of the Holy Father (the Church universal). And, given
the reality that the Catholic Church is one of the few institutions
insisting on God’s plan for marriage, what the Church teaches relative
to marriage is of extreme importance.
It is said that the largest church (faith community) in the United
States is the Roman Catholic Church. The second largest grouping is made
up of former Catholics. How does one tell when one slips over the edge
and moves from Catholic to former Catholic? That is not easily answered.
The road to conversion has many ups and downs. A person can be extremely
fervent one year, totally distracted the next, only to return to
everything expected of him the following year. The precepts of the
Church are there as a reminder of the indispensable minimal
expectations.
In the meantime, there is a need to pray daily for a strong faith and
the grace of fidelity. Hopefully those whom God has called to the
Catholic Church through baptism and the sacrament of confirmation focus
not on minimal expectations, but holiness.
The catechism defines holiness as “a state of goodness in which a person
— with the help of God’s grace, and the action of the Holy Spirit, and a
life of prayer — is freed from sin and evil. Such a person, when gifted
with holiness, must still resist temptation, repent of sins they may
have committed, and realize that remaining holy is a life-long
pilgrimage with many spiritual and moral challenges. The struggles
evident in the lives of the saints are instructive when trying to
explain and describe holiness.” |
